ANIMAL CONTROL

Tom Carter, Knight-Ridder/TribuneCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Dog breeder Susan Hensley's life changed 10 years ago when she bought a pet containment system. She was finally able to keep fox terriers, Scottish terriers and her other canine escape artists from giving her the slip.

The system so impressed her that she took on another career. She began selling the systems to others.

Hensley owns Invisible Fencing of the Bluegrass in Lexington, Ky., a franchise of a Pennsylvania-based company. The "invisible" fence is an electronic barrier that delivers a shock to the animal if it tries to cross it.

In a decade, she has provided invisible fencing not only for dogs but also for cats, a miniature horse, a pygmy goat and a Vietnamese potbellied pig.

"I don't think we'd want to try another goat again, but every collar and every fence is custom-designed for a particular breed," Hensley says.

Standard installations involve burying a slim cable 4 inches deep along the fence perimeter. The cable is attached to a transmitter placed in a garage or similar location. Other features of the system include a lightning protector for the animal.

It takes training

The animal wears a collar bearing a radio receiver. If the animal crosses the cable line or tries to dig under it or jump over it, the system delivers a 7.5-volt shock through prongs on the collar.

However, there's more preparation involved than burying the fence and strapping a collar on the animal.

Company installer and animal trainer Mark Gilpin works with the animals and their owners to get the animal trained.

The animal, on a leash, is taught to be aware of the change in its new surroundings in stages. First, it is shown flags that mark the fence line and is taught to stay away.

Once the fence is installed, the flags come down and the dog learns to listen for a high-pitched tone.

The animal is taught to be aware of the tone and that it means a shock if it proceeds closer to the fence. The shock isn't enough to hurt either dog or owner, Hensley says.

"That pulsing is an irritating feeling more than a shock," she says. "The system works simply because it's consistent."

For two weeks, the owner and the animal walk the perimeter. The dog is on a leash. Over and over, it is shown the flags and made to listen to the tone.

If the animal to be contained is a cat, the training is different. Most cats aren't trained to a leash.

"With animals not trained to a leash, you use a lunge line. Let them walk into the system and then pull them out so they will understand the safe area," Hensley says.

Hensley's company has installed the system in yards, in the water around a houseboat, around automobile dealerships to keep guard dogs secure, around garbage cans and once around a kitchen table where a family wanted peace from animals during meals.

Collar is the key

The reason the fence can be underwater-in creeks, ponds or pools-is because it is not electrical. The fence emits a radio signal that tells the collar to emit an electrical shock.

". . . There are dogs and situations where it is not going to work," says Hensley. "And if it doesn't, we give you your money back."

Gilpin, who has received many of the 7.5-volt shocks, says it is the equivalent of walking across a room of new carpet and touching a doorknob.

The amount of the voltage doesn't vary with the size or kind of animal, but the nature of the collar might. For example, for a dog with a huge neck, the collar prongs will be narrower to penetrate the thick hair around his throat.

The system cannot do everything. For example, there's no way to control other animals that roam on to your property.

Prices for an invisible fence installation start at $599 for 500 feet of fence and outfitting for a single animal.

For additional information or for the dealer nearest you, call 1-800-538-3647.